For my thesis, I developed a new technique for creating and analyzing 3D models of underwater scenes using computer vision and machine learning. The methods are already being used by researchers in Indonesia, Madagascar, Bonaire, Cuba, Honduras, and the Maldives. I've published part of the research, and have five related publications nearing submission or under review. I hope the research will make a significant impact in our understanding of the ocean.

Ocean and Space Collaboration: I postponed submitting my thesis by two months to work in a NASA artificial intelligence accelerator last summer in California (blog post here). It was a chance to apply my knowledge of 3D modeling underwater ocean scenes to the challenge of 3D modelling near-earth asteroids. It was a fantastic opportunity that not only augmented the last chapter of my PhD thesis, but also allowed me to grow personally and professionally.

​Our team of four engineers at NASA's Frontier Development Lab used a range of machine learning techniques to automate asteroid 3D modelling. My team's results were well-received by NASA's Planetary Defense community and the tool my team developed will be implemented this year at the Arecibo Observatory to help track near-earth asteroids.

Upcoming Events: While waiting for my PhD defense in March or April, I've committed to a few speaking events, listed below.

Jan 27-31 - NatGeo in London: I'll be attending NatGeo's first-ever London Explorer’s Festival. I'll share updates about current and upcoming projects with the NatGeo community, and we'll celebrate with Jane Goodall the release of her critically-acclaimed film (read more here & find a screening near you).

Feb 3 - CERN Speech in Geneva: I’ll be speaking at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland, about the “CERN for the Ocean” idea I presented in this 2015 TIME op-ed. The idea that has morphed into the a broader “CERN for the Planet.” More about my connection to CERN in previous blog post "Return to CERN."

Feb 6-8 - Marine Technology Society presentations in New Orleans: I’ll be speaking in New Orleans at the Underwater Interventions conference hosted by the Marine Technology Society. With the Pisces VI submarine team, we will share updates from the build. Additionally, I'll present my thesis work on 3D modelling underwater scenes. I've attended this conference almost every year since I was 19!

Feb 26-27 - MIT Media Lab: I'm thrilled that Katy Croff Bell is launching the Open Ocean Initiative at MIT Media Lab. It will "design and deploy new ways to understand the ocean and connect people to it, empowering a global community of explorers." I'll be at one of the first events "Here Be Dragons" in Boston this February. Most of the talks will be live streamed from MIT or the New England Aquarium. More information here.

April 10 - Join me for "Extreme Oceans" Presentations in DC (a Student Matinee at 10AM, and a General Admission at 7:30PM): I’ll be speaking at NatGeo Headquarters in Washington D.C. about why I care so much about the ocean, how my interests developed, and more broadly about the future of our ocean, the technology and policies we need, and how everyone can get involved. I'll give both a students-only matinee and an evening talk open to the public. Tickets are available here through NatGeo. Friend Anand Varma (who did the awesome slo-mo story of on hummingbirds you might've seen!) will be speaking a few days later on April 13.

Update

My interview from time at CERN just published in Symmetry magazine. ​Excerpt below.

CERN alumna turned deep-sea explorer​​S: What do you think ocean researchers and particle physicists can learn from each other?GY:I think we already know it: That is, we can only solve big problems by working together. I'm convinced that only by working together across disciplines, ethnicities and nationalities can we survive as a species. Of course, the physical sciences are integral to everything related to ocean engineering, but it's really CERN's problem-solving methodology that's most inspiring and applicable. CERN was created to solve big problems by combining the best of human learning irrespective of nationality, ethnicity or discipline. Our Pisces VI deep sea submarine team is multidisciplinary, multinational and—just like CERN—it's focused on exploring the unknown that's essential to life as we know it.

Full article here. It's also on the Facebook page for the Pisces VI submarine (here). ​

​Last week I was delighted to return to CERN for a short trip (and break from thesis writing). In front of the Globe, CERN's alumni team and I filmed an interview for CERN's newly launched alumni network. I'll post the video once it's live. Rachel Bray and I chatted about my time there, including my first visit as an INTEL Science Fair winner followed by an internship in CERN openlab, and then my transition from physics into ocean engineering (how it's not such a weird transition!). We also gave a plug for my talk in February at CERN's first-ever alumni conference, where I'll tackle the subject, ‘What is the role of scientists in building a sustainable future for the planet?’ Spoiler alert: I'll focus on the big questions a CERN-for-the-ocean could answer! (My 2014 op-ed for TIME explains more fully my vision for a CERN-for-the-ocean.)

My first-ever blog titled, "CERN-Intel 2010 Special Award Winners' Trip," chronicles my first visit to CERN as a thrilled 17-year old physics student living her dream of a one-week immersion at CERN. It covers every detail of the trip, from notes on each speakers and activities to what we ate for breakfast.

I'm thankful for CERN's supportive community, its dedication to pushing the boundaries of human knowledge, and its pioneering model that has demonstrated how cooperative, interdisciplinary, multinational pulbic-private research can succeed in solving big problems and achieving monumental results (e.g., invention of World Wide Web and Grid Computing, confirmation of Higgs boson, are just a few examples). In fact, the night before my interview I met another alumna who wrote the first code for CERNdocs that became a central node in the "vague but exciting" project now known as the World Wide Web.

In my interview, rather than focus on specific problems and solutions, I tried to highlight open-ended research questions---the type of large-scale questions CERN has so well addressed. I was thinking, 'What is the equivalent for the ocean of confirming the Higgs boson?' For me there are two big, unanswered questions: (1) How does the ocean support so much biodiversity? (Also: Why does it? What are all those unique creatures and their purposes anyways? (2) How does it regulate weather/atmosphere on our planet? Our window of opportunity for answering these questions is closing, as we are losing biodiversity and the ocean is increasingly unable to provide the ecosystem functions we depend upon; but again, it's possible to focus on the big, exciting questions without harping on the doom and gloom.

Notes/text from my interview are below.

Tell us who you are.I'm an ocean engineer, just now completing my doctorate at University of Oxford. I work on technologies that help us better understand our ocean.

What have you done since CERN? This summer I joined 23 other scientists from around the world for an artificial intelligence accelerator at NASA’s Frontier Development Lab in California. It reminded me a lot of CERN – on a much smaller scale. It was a public-private, interdisciplinary initiative that brought together scientists from different backgrounds to focus on solving discreet problems in a short period of time. My team focused on using artificial intelligence to create 3D models of asteroids. ​

What unique experience did you take away from CERN? CERN had a huge impact on my development as a scientist and engineer. My experience was truly transformative. My first experience was when I was age 17. A classmate and I won a week-long trip to CERN from the Intel Science Fair for a physics project. It was a dream come true; I'd read so much about CERN. I'm still incredibly thankful to Wolfgang Von Rueden for organizing that trip and becoming a mentor. A year later, CERN’s openlab took a chance on a first-year MIT student and let me into its summer internship program. I got to work with phenomenal people and write software to help physicists (perform Dalitz analysis within the ROOT data analysis framework).Although I veered away from physics into ocean engineering (I like to sail and I love the water), CERN taught me many things that I often think back to. One is the genuine power in community. It's not just about putting capable people in the same place -- it's about having those people, from diverse disciplines work together to solve discrete problems, and work towards a common purpose. Another thing it taught me is that fundamental science pursued for the sake of science (or art) spawns innovation. ​

The night before the interview I met another alumna. She wrote the first code for CERNdocs, which became a central node in the "vague but exciting" project now known as the World Wide Web. ​​

Even my visitor's badge to CERN reinforced its core purpose. I thought the text on the badge aptly described CERN's mission and motivation. It read:

What is the Universe made of? Where did it come from, where it is going and why does it behave the way it does? At CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, physicists and engineers and probing the fundamental structure of the universe. They use the world's largest and most complex scientific instruments to study the basic constitutes of matter - the fundamental particles. The particles are made to collide together at close to the speed of light. The process gives the physicists clues about how the particles interact, and provides insights into the fundamental laws of nature.

What value do you see in the CERN alumni network? I see the alumni network as a potentially powerful tool. Of course it's a great way to stay in touch with friends, make new ones, and enhance career connections. Its greatest value, however, may be in harnessing the power of our great community to solve big problems like CERN proper does. Alumni know the value of cooperation and the power of working across disciplines, across cultures, public-private sectors, and that's a powerful thing. What’s next for you? I'd like to create a CERN-for-the-ocean. Right now we don't understand how the ocean works -- how it holds so much biodiversity, how it maintains weather, sequesters so much carbon. At the same time it faces big problems including overfishing, pollution, acidification and warming. These require technical and policy solutions. I'd like to copy CERN's model for research and innovation and apply it to the equivalent for the ocean of confirming the Higgs boson.

ANOTHER NOTE ON POSITIVE MESSAGES

Humpback whale off New York City!

While in Geneva, I stumbled across this well-written, cautiously optimistic piece by Carl Safina ​for National Geographic about how the waters off of New York are changing for the better. I found it inspiring, and it made me extra-excited to attend the opening of NatGeo's Ocean Odyssey next month! More about that on the Act Now page!

From Safina's article:

This is a new and improved, revitalized coast, returning to abundance, where everything has plenty to eat and big things linger all summer getting fat and staying relaxed. Whales are spending summers where no one remembers seeing them before; fish eating birds are doing better than anyone can remember, sharks are rebounding along the East Coast as nowhere else in the world, and high-value fish such as striped bass and bluefish have plenty to eat. Osprey pairs have been raising healthy broods of three chicks and many mornings this summer it took them a few minutes to find and catch a fish as the sky was getting light. Often they’d delivered breakfast to their chicks even before time the sun cleared the horizon.

Last week I had the honor of attending National Geographic’s first-ever Explorers Festival. It was many things: It was a gathering of explorers from all disciplines andcorners of the globe; it was my introduction to the NatGeo “family;” it was an excuse for NatGeo to roll out the 'yellow carpet' for James Cameron, Sylvia Earle, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Bob Ballard, and other explorer-celebrities.

As a 2017 Emerging Explorer, I gave a 10-minute talk about my work and dreams and then contributed to a panel discussion on “Transformative Technology;” both are online here.

The week was a gear-shifting process for me. For the past several months I’ve been up to my ears in my PhD thesis. This week forced me to take a few steps back and think big-picture, about major goals and priorities in terms of ocean technology development. It also forced me to reflect on my personal story --- the twists of fate that pushed me to where I am now.

NatGeo focuses on human elements of any story; I believe this is one reason why it effectively engages across disciplines. Explorers are encouraged not just to talk about their work, as they might at an academic or technical conference, but also to speak of their motivations – how and why they got to their unique position. Usually these stories take us back to childhood, but not all the time – sometimes the story starts later in life. Distilling one’s life into a story is a difficult task if you overthink it. How can one figure out which moments of the past millions and millions of moments to cut and which to mention? How do our brains remove the signal from the noise? Only in hindsight have I identified some of the more transformative moments. The storytellers at NatGeo helped me bring out the bits of my story that linked my path in ways I hadn’t considered before. For that I’m very thankful to the NatGeo community.

During the Festival, Fabien Cousteau’s Mission 31 got a shout-out not just in my talk, but also in educator Joe Grabowski’s talk. Joe founded Exploring by the Seat of Your Pants(EBTSOYP), an awesome program that connects classrooms with explorers for virtual field trips. If your classroom is studying the ocean, EBTSOYP can connect your class for 30+ minutes with someone or a team doing ocean work that as their full-time job(s). I believe exposing young students to human stories related to their studies is essential to engagement. I remember in middle school wanting to be a dolphin trainer, orthodontist, or teacher because those were the professions that I understood---I never heard of an ocean engineer until university! I can’t wait to connect students with the Pisces VI submarine project through Joe’s program.

Chatting with legend James Cameron about lights and cameras for the Pisces VI submarine. Although it doesn't look like it in this picture, I swear I was paying attention!

One of the moments that brought happy tears to my eyes last week was watching Wasfia’s story. I was introduced to her a few days before at a happy hour, when someone whispered to me “she’s climbed Everest…” but only after watching her film did I realize that’s the tinniest part of her story. A Bangladeshi orphan, she learned new definitions of home. On summitting the highest peaks of all seven continents, she said "in my eye, climbing is more of a surrender rather than conquering; if anything nature conquers you."

Watch Wasfia's inspirational story here^

WHAT’S NEXT.

Yesterday (Monday June 26, 2017) was the first day of my 8-week stint with NASA’s Frontier Development Lab. In September I’ll return full attention to my doctoral thesis, which I plan to submit in December. In my spare time I’m thinking about the science addenda for the Pisces VI submarine, which I’ll visit this August with fellow scientist Anni Djurhuus. Scott is currently on a cruise with the Alvin submarine in Costa Rica.

At the Festival, I learned and experienced the word “overinspired.” I feel extremely motivated to get back to work, even if that means getting back to the grind. I’m looking forward to learning cutting edge machine learning applications this summer with NASA colleagues and will devote my whole focus to that. Down the line, I look forward to collaborations with fellow explorers, whether that be on ocean research expeditions, technology development, or yet unplanned adventures. ​

Next week we are hosting what we think is the FIRST LIVE UNDERWATER SEMINAR at Oxford! Come along if you're in the area! It'll also be video-recorded/posted online at a later date.

The Conservation Governance Lab and The Ocean Science & Policy Lab present: David Novillo -- Live and interactive from under the ocean of Tenerife Wednesday 17th May 12.30 in Becket Room, Department of Geography

David Novillo is an entrepreneur and conservationist who through vision, drive and boundless optimism and enthusiasm is pulling off one of the most innovative and exciting marine restoration projects in Spain, if not Europe. Using the wonders of modern technology, David and his colleague Filipe, will take us underwater to show marine ecosystems damaged by lime urchins and the transformation in marine life that their control and restoration of algal communities brings.

As David descends under the waves and swims between areas, Grace Young, Emma McIntosh and Paul Jepson will present the technology being used, the development context of the restoration project and the innovations in marine governance that it represents. We thank the Municipality of Adeje, Tenerife for providing the technological infrastructure to make this link-up possible. Please note. Whilst we have tested the underwater link, weather on the day could intervene!

"Every year, National Geographicrecognizes and supports uniquely gifted and inspiring scientists, conservationists, storytellers and innovatorswho are changing the world, known as our Emerging Explorers."

"Grace C. Young, United States: Ocean engineer developing technology to explore and manage ocean resources. Technologies Young has helped develop include underwater robots and camera systems that record fish populations, map coral reefs in 3D, and capture undersea events in ultra-slow motion. She is also working on a deep sea submarine for manned exploration.​"

"As a small aside, “maximum sustained yield” (MSY) the mantra for fisheries management, was a practice developed in the 1930’s by the US Forest Service. It may work for trees because they stand still and are easy to count, but it definitely is not a practice that can be easily applied to or work as well for enormous amounts of biomasses of living, moving, animals.

In fact it is such a narrowly focused management methodology that the 20th Century’s most respected expert in marine fishery dynamics, the late Peter Anthony Larkin, wrote the MSY epitaph in 1977, four decades ago.

Larkin condemned Maximum Sustained Yield because it put marine species at too much risk. It left out too many relevant factors and left management decisions too vulnerable to political pressure to be accurate or objective. Its myopic view is weighted towards “benefits” (to the fishery) while at the same time ignoring relevant negative factors. It strives to impose a constant harvest rate without taking into account each species’ natural biological and environmental fluctuations.

In short, MSY is probably not the way to try and ascertain accurate population counts of global fisheries whose health and abundance depend on an integrated management approach. "

Yesterday on a podcast I heard the host say "everything in engineering seems to be collaborative," as if that was surprising. It reminded me of a misconception, that great engineers are geniuses working alone in basements, that I speak of often with students. That couldn't be farther from the truth; but it's a misconception that keeps many students from pursuing engineering as a profession - they think engineering isn't a career for "people persons."

I spoke about what I call the "Iron Man" myth exactly three years ago as a 20min "TIMTalk" at MIT, titled "No Engineer is an Island." The video is no longer available online (at least for now), but a transcript is below.

TIMTalk Grace C. YoungTheme: Collaboration and EngineeringTitle: No Engineer is an Island

You know the movie Iron Man? The rock-star engineer of the film creates an incredible machine, alone, while squirreled away in a glorified basement. Not to dis superheroes or Marvel fans, but that really is fiction. I don't know anyone who works like that... and I go to MIT.

At MIT I’ve found engineering to be extremely collaborative. On a daily basis, engineers work together to solve complex problems all over the world. We may be "nerds" that have our own quirks, but in order to do our jobs right, we need to be people persons too - constantly interacting with others. We shouldn’t be ashamed of working in groups, of not accomplishing things purely on our own, and then having a "team," rather than an individual, be recognized. This is an important idea to get into people's heads, especially engineers.

DaVincis or Edisons may come along once every 500 years or so. But as a rule, successful engineering requires teamwork.

Once I met a girl at a Christmas party and someone asked if she wanted to be an engineer "like Grace." She said “no,” because she "liked working with people.”

I wish I could convey this to her that as an engineer, you do work with people! A lot of people! Really, everyday; it’s necessary. She thought a “people career” was being a doctor, or working at a store. Too many people think this way, that engineers are somehow anti-social, working alone in basements. It’s an unfortunate misconception because it inhibits some, especially women, from entering, or trying, engineering because they want to “work with people.”

Honestly, part of me was that girl at the Christmas party when I first got to MIT. I remember as a freshman, reading a problem set question and having no idea how to solve it, yet I thought if I really focused and put a ton of hours into it I could do it; but I wasn’t really successful. Then, I remember staying up late working on problem sets with classmates. A group of us would sit down and, working together for several hours, we’d somehow manage to find a solution, even though each of us on our own couldn’t figure out how to solve the problem earlier.

I remember hearing about a guy in our physics class who did the whole PSET we were struggling over in just two hours by himself. I was so jealous! I thought, “I want to be that guy.” But I realize now that I was missing the point. Collaboration is necessary to solve real problems. I’m grateful that MIT has taught me that lesson.

I discovered then that to succeed at MIT you really need both introverted and extroverted qualities. There are times when it’s better to sit on your own, straighten things out in your own head, do practice problems, or just teach yourself a new skill. But you also need to know when to work with others to find solutions.

This summer I used that working style on a real project. I was working in Hawaii to re-design an autonomous robot for monitoring the health of commercial fisheries. Building the robot was a perfect project for an ocean engineering student, like me. Here I am on deck of a research vessel with the robot I worked on [referring to photo].

Sure, for this project I spent some time alone at my desk, making a SolidWorks 3D model and reading relevant papers, but a huge amount of my time I spent soliciting input and communicating with others; so I really had to be a people-person, too. I’d be on the phone with a machinist, for example, almost daily, about what parts to change to make manufacturing faster. Or, I’d be talking to the crew who deployed an earlier version of the robot, seeing how I could change the design to make their lives easier. They said if the units could stack on top of one another, like Ikea boxes, it would make their work more efficient. I incorporated their feedback by adding simple pegs in the corners that allowed units to stack.

I wouldn’t have known these things, about the machining or stacking, without reaching out to those people. So collaboration and communication was a huge part of the project, and quite frankly one of the challenges.

This dynamic working style - I’m calling it the mix of intro and extroverted – comes into play in many areas of like, not just on engineering projects like building robots or solving problems sets.

I first practiced it in ballet class.

This is me four years ago [refering to photo]. Before MIT I danced with a ballet company. In high school I spent just as much time in the ballet studio as I did doing math problems and working in my school’s robotics lab.

When you’re training at the ballet barre it’s easy to stand there and be jealous of the dancers around you. Maybe they have a higher développé, or longer legs, and so on… But at some point for you to get better, you need to put blinders on, and focus on your own improvements. You need to let yourself be inspired and motivated by the people around you, but also know when to focus on your own development.

I’ve had to do the same thing at MIT; it’s easy to be jealous of the guy who finishes the 6.01 PSET in an hour, or started in advanced physics freshman fall. But that’s not always productive. To succeed here you need to let yourself be inspired and motivated by your peers, and work with them to solve problems, and then know when to focus on your own learning.

I hope the girl at the Christmas party, and other people stuck in her mindset, will soon consider engineering a career that lets you “work with people,” that the Iron Man-working style is a myth.

Chickens peck in the dirt at the end of the rutted drive. Out back of the house, a rooster crows. And in a building that looks like a fine place to park a combine, a crew works on a submarine that can go 8,000 feet deep in the ocean.

Only a half-dozen or so subs in the world can do that. The others are owned by governments and research groups in Russia, France, Japan and the U.S. Then there’s Scott Waters, 29, the head of his family’s chain of hardware stores. He found his submarine in storage in Wisconsin, loaded it on a flatbed truck and hauled it home to Salina.

Its name is Pisces VI and it can go where light can’t, down to an undersea world of legend and fantasy, the part of the planet we know least about. .. Grace C. Young is the project’s science ambassador. She will be the link to research groups and networks... Young [left] high school early, earned an engineering degree at MIT and now is doing thesis work on oceanic imagery at the University of Oxford in England.

Question: What made her come to be part of this?“People asked me that when I left Oxford — ‘Kansas? Really?’ It’s because we all believe in what Scott’s doing. I’m very interested in climate change, and the oceans are a big part of that." ...

Grace Young climbed out of a crate with an electrical connector in decent shape. She smiled.​'This is like finding gold,' she said....

After Kansas, I headed to St. Petersburg, Florida, for the BLUE Ocean Film Festival & Conservation Summit and to reunite with the SailFuture crew. SailFuture, you might remember I sailed across the Atlantic for them last winter, is at the moment setting up a new home in St. Pete for the young adults they work with. At BLUE, I was fortunate to reconnect with familiar faces like Billy Snook from Mission 31, Dr. Sylvia Earle from Mission Blue, and Zach Ponder from Utila; I also met plenty of new people, like the founder of Nekton, Erika Bergman, researchers at University South Florida and University of Miami, and an handful of submarine pilots. I was surprised to see my main thesis supervisor, Professor Alex Rogers, featured in one of the films!

Until Christmas (when my family visits the UK!), I'm focused on thesis work and four more papers in the pipeline (see my thoughts on peer review publishing). I'll also be at the Reef Conservation UK Conference at The Zoological Society of London on November 26th and speaking at the Royal Russell School on December 7th.

1. New (SAD) Scientific Discovery by LABMATE

My officemate and a fellow researcher in Oxford's Ocean Research & Conservation Group, Dr Michelle Taylor, has found the first evidence of microplastic being ingested by deep sea animals. Read her paper at:

You can read more about microplastics on this NOAA webpage. They first appeared in personal care products about fifty years ago. On December 28, 2015, President Obama signed the Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015, banning plastic microbeads in cosmetics and personal care products. Other countries are following suit. It was a major topic of discussion at the Our Ocean conference, which I attended last month (that story here).

Image credit http://brenmicroplastics.weebly.com/impacts.html

2. SPEAKING IN LONDON, OPEN TO ALL

This Thursday (Oct 6) I'll be speaking at Kings College London about ocean exploration. Everyone is welcome. At 6pm in the Pyramid Room, the talk part of their Intrepid Explorers series and will most likely precede some sort of pub outing. Thanks Rebecca Farnum, author of Defending the Deep - Guardians of the Sea (!), for inviting me!

3. Speaking at Oxford Animal Ethics Society

I'll also be speaking alongside two other scholars again at the Oxford Animal Ethics Society, where we're sharing our presentation on how SeaWorld could replace their captive animal shows with virtual and artificial reality entertainment. It's the same presentation we won for at the 2016 International Business Ethics Competition (that story here).

Our presentation was "so busy, people were standing in the hall!"

Later this month, I'll be traveling to Kansas to work with the rest of the team bringing the Pisces VI submarine back into operation as a deep-sea research vessel. From there, I'll head to the BLUE Ocean Film Festival in Florida to reconnect with Mission 31 crew and with the SailFuture team.

​Today for World Oceans Day I did a Google Hangout with school kids in Canada and the US. It was hosted by non-profit Exploring By the Seat of Your Pants, which aims to connect students with guest speakers to give them "virtual field trips" around the world. The founder, Joe Grabowski, calls it "knocking down classroom walls." This World Oceans Day they broadcasted 12 hours (6am - 6pm EST) of ocean-themed talks. You can watch my full talk here, or see the snippets from Q/A below.

Yesterday Dominic Andradi-Brown and I presented at the annual dinner of the Oxford University Underwater Exploration Group (OUUEG). We talked broadly about using technology to explore coral reefs, and gave examples from our work together on rebreathers in the Caribbean and Red Sea. We also talked about our separate expeditions, including Dom's in Indonesia with Operation Wallacea and mine in the Keys with Mission 31 and in Hawaii with NOAA's Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center.

UPCOMING TALK

I'll also be talking at Somerville College in Oxford as part of their "Will Power Lunch" on May 21st.

... and again at Somerville College, on May 23, as part of a series on emotional well-being in research and fieldwork. Please message if you'd like more details.

The 2016 International Business Ethics Competition was last week in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I competed with a team from Oxford. Our presentation, "The Future of SeaWorld," earned us the top prize in our division.​Professional videos and photos of presentations will be available shortly. Meanwhile, here is a copy of our PowerPoint and a brief summary of our vision for the parks is below. ​

SUMMARY OF OUR VISION

Replace captive animal shows with virtual and artificial reality (VR/AR) alternatives. VR/AR could give visitors the sensation of swimming alongside dolphins in the wild or having a whale breach right in front of them, for example. The purpose of our presentation was not to present a technical plan or storyboard for VR/AR entertainment, but rather to demonstrate the possibilities. We recommended that SeaWorld hire a core engineering and design team, similar to Disney's Imagineers, to produce these attractions.

SeaWorld recently ended its orca breeding program. While this is a step in the right direction, it is not enough. Orcas and dolphins currently in SeaWorld's care should be rehabilitated and moved to sea pens following plans like those detailed in this article.

Existing tanks could be used as part of VR/AR attractions (e.g., holographic shows, as in the video below by Magic Leap). They might also hold FlyBoard shows (e.g., video below by FlyBoard). VIP park visitors could glide and out the water in either whale-inspired water craft (e.g., video below by SeaBreacher) or in tandem with FlyBoard performers.

"SeaWorld had a male, Taku, who bred with his own mother, Katina, resulting in the birth of a calf named Nalani."

“Another symptom of boredom: I saw the whales float motionless for hours upon hours every day, leading, among other things, to complete dorsal fin collapse on 100% of all captive adult males… This happens in fewer than 1% of wild adult males. In the wild, it's believed to be caused by traumatic injury such as being struck by a vessel — in captivity, it is the unnatural amount of time spent at the surface and the inevitable pull of gravity.”

"I witnessed and distributed the enormous amount of drugs the whales were doped up on: antibiotics to treat chronic infections, medication to treat ulcers and fungal infections, drugs to treat epilepsy. I even gave whales Valium when we would do an invasive procedure, take a calf away from its mother, or move whales from one park to another."

SeaWorld's predicament and the ethical issues it faces are highlighted in the documentary Blackfish and subsequent media focus. ​​The film isn't perfect, however; it has been criticized in this Medium article by Isaac Wadd and SeaWorld refutes the film's claims. That said, SeaWorld must make changes in order for it to not only remain a viable business, but also stay true to its mission of providing inspiring, exciting, and educational experiences to its visitors.

I’m sitting in the St. Thomas airport waiting for my flight to Heathrow. Toting a hiking bag stuffed with salt-encrusted clothes, I search for an outlet to charge my laptop; it’s been dead nearly three weeks. My hair is still wet from this morning’s dip in the ocean.

“You get off a boat?” asked the man ahead of me at check-in. I wondered what gave it away. Was it my freckled skin and I-don’t-care ponytail? My callouses? My travel partner joking about peeing in a bucket?

As I sit down to write this blog entry, I find reflecting upon the last 22 days somewhat overwhelming. In that time we, eight friends, sailed a 65’ boat across the Atlantic. Every aspect of my daily routine changed dramatically and abruptly during those days at sea. I was pleasantly surprised that, apart from friends and family, I didn’t miss land much. It feels as if a year, or several, passed in those days. It was an adventure of a lifetime.

For me the journey started about three weeks before we left port. While out in London at a celebration, I received the following text from a friend:

Hey, crazy idea and no doubt you already have plans… but want to cross the Atlantic Ocean? Dec 18 – Jan 5?

The friend is the founder of a non-profit called <SailFuture>. The reason behind the last minute request is a somewhat of long-story, see <previous blog post>. We chatted details, but all I could say initially was “still trying to work out logistics; haven’t forgotten.” Finally it worked out, in large part to the encouragement of my friend Elizabeth (“Bizzy”) Walton, and the support of other friends and family.

Before I explain the sail further, let’s get some “FAQs” that usually come up in conversation out of the way.​

​Q: When did you leave?A: We departed the afternoon of December 19th, 2015 from Las Palmas, Canary Islands. We originally planned to leave December 18th, but a faulty pulley on our jib took us back to the marina for the night.

Q: How long did it take?A: It took us 22 days to cross the Atlantic. We originally anticipated a 14-day journey, but some mechanical hiccups took us slightly off course and slowed our progress. More on this later.

Q: What’s the boat like?A: It’s a 65’ McGregor: [photo] You can also see photos from when I sailed on the boat last July; <see previous post>.

Q: Were there showers and toilets?A: Showers no; toilets yes. We rinsed with ocean water. This is common among racing sailors and isn’t that bad really. Even if the boat’s proper showers had been functional, we wouldn’t have used them because we needed to conserve fresh water.

Q: Who was on the boat? A: We had eight crew, five guys and three girls. All of us were somehow acquainted with our Captain, Mike. On each shift, our roles sorted roughly into skipper, first mate, deckhand, and steward.

Q: Were you scared? A: No; see previous post <Anything scare me underwater?>. I'd like to write a longer post on this question, which I get often and that I've noticed females get far more often than males regarding adventure. It's like asking someone if they're scared to take their driver's exam... No, I've trained for the situation and know the range of things to expect.

Q: Did you see other boats?A: Yes; but not many. We saw about a dozen other vessels total during our 22-day crossing. Most were container ships. On Boxing Day we made contact with another sailboat over the radio. Nothing but clear blue ocean surrounded us during the vast majority of our journey.

Q: What did you eat?How’d you cook?A: Lots of pasta and sandwiches. Fresh veggies for the first week, or until things went bad. We had a gas stove aboard. Lesson learned: Even when rationing fresh water, don’t cook pasta in ocean water; it’s too salty. We also bought a leg of Parma ham that lasted two weeks. It got super creepy at night accidentally running into that hoof though, or watching the hoof sway with the boat.

Q: What marine life did you encounter? A: We had several dozen dolphins at a time follow our boat for about 10min on three different occasions. One of our helmsmen is certain he saw a whale on his shift as well. We spotted two sea turtles. Sometimes, even in the middle of the ocean, we’d see a lone bird flying around. A pigeon landed on our deck our second day at sea. We saw flying fish dance out of the water, and even onto our deck, many days.

Q: What was it like celebrating (insert: Christmas, birthday, New Year’s) in the middle of the ocean?A: Fantastic. I missed family and friends, but we used our satellite phone to each make a short call home. We were blessed Christmas day with calm weather, so we could go for a swim. We had a great dinner too. On my birthday, the crew surprised me with a chocolate cake they managed to make in the oven. On New Year’s Eve you could say we all enjoyed a sunset cruise with some of our closest friends. It was great!

Q: What was harder, living underwater for 15 days or sailing across the Atlantic for 22 days?A: I know it’s the boring answer, but the answer is simply that they’re different. Both had unique challenges. Living in Aquarius prepared me to live in close quarters for an extended period of time. For Aquarius though, by the end of our intense training I felt comfortable dealing with almost any imaginable emergency situation. We had two full-time habitat technicians living with us plus a full topside support crew, many of whom had run similar missions dozens of times in the past. This meant I could just focus on science work with other researchers. On this sailing trip, however, we were all doing this for the first time. We had to figure things out as they came up, and, moreover, figure them out without the aid of Internet or anything that wasn’t already on the boat.

Q: Did you have any bad weather?A: Not really. We were very fortunate with weather. We didn’t encounter any storms or rough patches that we couldn’t handle. We had some spouts of rain, but nothing major. The strongest winds we encountered were about 30 knots.

Q: What surprised you?A: The songs stuck in your head when you leave land stay stuck in your head. I couldn’t shake Adele’s “Hello."

I really trusted our Captain, Mike. One of the first things you see below deck is a handwritten sign reading “No Bullshit” taped in the galley. When I agreed to join the crossing, I trusted him not only to lead us safely across the Atlantic, but also to pull together a competent crew with good group dynamic. Here’s a story from our fourth day at sea that confirmed our faith in the Captain; it’s taken from an excerpt of my journal entry three days before Christmas.

Sometime close to midnight, Maddie and I were below deck chopping greens when we heard a jibe. A jibe is when the boom swinging violently across the boat due to a change in the wind direction along the sail. Jeremy, one of our most competent helmsmen, was at the wheel, so it can’t have been caused by ineptitude or carelessness. Something was wrong.

Mike bolted out of bed at the noise. Yep, something is very wrong. He knows the boat, all the noises it can make. He’s not taking for granted that the boat will sustain that kind of force.

Both our captains and a 1st mate are on deck, plus one of our crew who is violently seasick. Maddie and I remain below, waiting to be asked to do something if help is needed. Space is so small up deck that especially in borderline-chaotic moments like this excessive crew can be in the way.

Staying calmly below, just waiting, gives me a particular feeling I’m not use to dealing with. Part of me feels that I, as a sailor and mechanical engineer by training, should be handier on deck. I want to be up there, rain hitting me sidewise, climbing the mast, pulling in lines, shouting orders, whatever it takes. Another part of me realizes that while I may have more basic sailing knowledge than some of our crew with different experiences initially, I’m not as physically strong (able to winch in heavy winds or yank the oft-stuck halyard cleat in heavy winds) as our male crewmembers. I’m not the first person to come into mind when the Captain needs someone to furl in the Genny, for example. Is part of this because the high-adrenaline “survival mode” situations are bringing out some of the guys’ instincts to protect women? There’s room for a psychology experiment here (hello PhD prospect!). It’s just our first few days at sea, however. Roles will pan out. Everyone on this boat is a team player, which means we will do whatever is best for the group to reach our objective. I’ve been cooking or taking care of the ill the last few days because it’s been best for the group and I want us to reach our goal.

As Maddie and I sit, braced between the navigation station desk and galley cabinets listening to orders cast above, Biz emerges from the main sleeping cabin, extremely seasick. She stumbles awkwardly to the floor and crouches in front of the stove, clinging to a bucket. She can’t keep even water (or Dramamine) down. I’m concerned she’ll soon be severely dehydrated. We try getting water with hydration salts to her.

Above us, the three men shout across the length of the boat. From below, it’s unclear what the problem is, but things seem tense. My body wants to worry, but my brain remains even-keel, the only way it knows, “Grace Under Pressure." Whatever, I still feel useless.

Mike starts singing “It’s a great day to be alive // I know the sun’s still shining’ when I close my eyes // There’s some hard times in the neighborhood // But why can’t everyday be just this good.” He’s either a lunatic or a thoughtful leader who has just goofily but purposefully quelled the unspoken anxieties of all his crew. It takes a few more days at sea to confirm the latter.

As he darts below deck he takes a moment to tell Bizzy something sweet, like he’s never seen someone look so gorgeous while puking. It’s stupid but it makes her smile and she needed that. I know that not only is she dealing with crushing seasickness, but she’s also wondering if it was really a good idea for her to be here. She’s been the bravest of any of us, signing up for this adventure knowing only me and not having spent more than half a day on a sailboat. This is one of the times when I appreciate how aware Mike is of everything on the boat, mechanically and emotionally.

Everyone is awake at this point; although I get the feeling that at best only the three on deck know what’s going on. Maddie and I are docile below, but we still need our brains turned on. For example, one of the guys passes down the fishing rod for us to secure. The quickest thing would be to wedge the rod between the table and bunk in the middle cabin, but we think one step ahead and find some less convenient place where no one in a hurry will accidentally step on it. This is one of those instances where you can’t be lazy and always have to be thinking ahead, of what might go wrong.

As you learn in all aspects of life, but maybe more so in engineering, when there’s one problem, it’s easier than ever for things to snowball into a multi-layer problem.

Maddie, taking a meta perspective, identifies issues on deck that we will remedy tomorrow. For example, those on deck might not realize it but they are wasting time rummaging around for headlamps only to find one of the headlamps has a dead battery. Tomorrow we'll organise the lamps and batteries in a reliable place. We also keep life vests and safety lines in a reliable location. We make a list, but must leave it for tomorrow.

Even though our adrenaline is spiked, Maddie and I sleep. Plenty of crew is available. Someone will need to be rested tomorrow when the others aren’t. This is one of those times when my ability to completely ignore my surroundings and fall asleep, no matter the noise or chaos, is more useful than annoying to my companions. Perhaps counter intuitively, by being able to sleep I feel useful finally. ​

[The full journal entry is below...]​

People make the boat.

We had no Internet or contact with the “outside” world during our crossing, apart from a satellite connection reserved for emergencies. This meant that all of us onboard couldn’t hide behind our phones or laptops; we had to hang out old-school style. It took perhaps two or three days to shake the habit of wanting to check my phone for updates. It took us no time to get to know each other. I guess hours and hours of uninterrupted conversation does that to people. If there was ever a lull during a night shift we’d play “would you rather” or go around telling stories. When our phones were all dead and unchangeable, we sang songs totally out of key.

We got on like a house on fire. Thank goodness, because this would be a very different crossing if not. Maybe the circumstances forced us to get along, but I don’t think so. We actually did all get along. Mike, the one who brought us all together, must’ve had a feeling we all would.

People dynamics have the potential to make all things sour when you’re living confined in close quarters 24/7, everyone out of their comfort zone in some way or another. If one person is in a funk it quickly infects the group.

There was only one day that I felt we got anywhere close to the “Mutiny” scene in Life Aquatic. I won’t go into the details, as they are mundane and have lost context; but we got over it by listening to each other and saying nice things before the evening meal.

There’s an unspoken rule for me when living in any form of inescapable tight quarters: If a person has headphones on or has retreated to a spot on the boat away from others, leave them alone. On land if you saw your friend sitting at an edge of a café you’d of course approach them even if only for a quick hello. On the boat there is zero private space. There are times when you feel superfluous, question your usefulness, and become insecure. Other times when you, rather vainly, think what would this boat do without me?

We’ve plenty of sea stories. I kept a detailed daily journal. Nearly all of it I wouldn’t publish. It’s personal, but also needs a good deal of context. Maybe I’m just a bad storyteller, but chatting with friends I quickly realize only a few of the stories really click, even if they weren’t the most telling for me. Here’s one of them: On Boxing Day, I woke up in the middle of the night from what I thought was me falling asleep at the helm. I tried adjusting the wheel to the heel of the boat that I felt, but it was pitch black. We’re use to sailing in just moonlight, a small light illuminating our heading on the compass. I woke up the crewmember sleeping next to me. “Turn on the compass and windex lights! I can’t see anything! The boat isn’t responding!” They were confused. I was dreaming, of course, a very vivid dream. I laughed, relieved, once I realised I was in my bunk. Two days later another helmsman had the same dream. It became a recurring phenomenon.

Family and friends were the only things I genuinely missed about land. I especially missed my sister on her 18th birthday. She was playing squash for Team USA at the British Junior Open for squash (yes, she’s impressive) in England and I was supposed to be there. I wondered if she was going out for a drink since she’d be legal in the UK. I wondered how she was feeling about her game. I wondered if she was mad at me for missing her. Thinking more about it made me sad.

I also reflected on the high seas from a geopolitics perspective, something related to my PhD work. Appropriately, the week before departing I attended a workshop on the high seas sponsored by the <Global Ocean Commission> at my college in Oxford. All the proposed suggestions had a very tangible meaning now that we were out here on the high seas.

Many have likened the high seas to the Wild West. It’s true that you can get away with anything out here. There’s no one around. It is lawless. Check out the <New York Times’ fantastic expose on “Lawlessness on the High Seas">. On one side of the debate, there is the beautiful dream that the high seas could be a place, indeed an opportunity, for international peace and cooperation. But humans largely need a sense of ownership to act responsibility. I’m no exception. I remember sharing a bedroom with my sister when we were younger. She’s messy and I’m neat. There was a line in the room, dividing messy from neat. I never cleaned her side although she wouldn’t mind it. I’m also thinking of the high seas in terms of the game we often played on nightshifts. Would you rather have to respond to a radio call from a government every time you entered a country’s territorial waters, and perhaps even pay a toll for sailing across their waters? Or, would you rather have total freedom, but allow the ocean decline from overexploitation? What’s the balance? This issue begs for a longer discussion in a separate piece.

The thing I most wondered about before the trip was, how would it feel to be completely surrounded by nothing but ocean? For 22 days we saw nothing but ocean to all edges of the horizon. There was no reference for size or location. You could easily go crazy. If you didn’t trust the compass or maps you’d wonder, have we moved at all? Never have I seen so many consecutive sunsets and sunrises. Every day the sky put on a different show, between sunset, moonrise, and sunrise. Bizzy, a keen eye, saw nearly three-dozen shooting stars during the voyage.

My six-hour flight back to England over the same ocean was surreal. I’ll never look out the window during one of those crossings and view that ocean the same way.

Jan 14, 2015 I'm sitting on the bus to London working on my 10 min talk for TEDx Oxford this Sunday. Excited! I'll post the video once it's out. The focus is "Why we know more about the dark side of the moon than the depths of the ocean." I'll present the argument from my BSc. thesis, which distills the reasons down to missiles and miscommunication. Then, after understanding the history, we'll look at future of ocean exploration as a venture jointly funded by private and government sectors. I'll tie in stories from expeditions too. Everyone loves stories.

PS ... in London for talk by Richard Pyle, big time rebreather diver and mesophotic coral reef researcher. His videos are really cool. Just listen to him: "Our average rate of species discovery is 12 new species per hour we spend at depth." (!!)

With the popular hastag #ILookLikeAnEngineer, it was a sweet surprise to see my sister Isabel's article (below). When I began in robotics, there were no girls involved at my school. Studies now show having role models in science and engineering that shatter stereotypes can be powerful for young girls who may be thinking about math, science, and engineering.

For three weeks over Christmas I'll help sail SailFuture's vessel Defy the Odds across the Atlantic from the Canary Islands to the US Virgin Islands. See previous posts about SailFuture's #SailforJustice program (why the boat is currently in the Canary Islands) and about my time onboard last July.

After landing in the US Virgin Islands, Defy the Odds will take guests on week-long trips between January and April before the next iteration of its central mission -- providing high-risk juvenile offenders a transformative alternative to incarceration through training and teamwork at sea. Learn more about their "Vacations with a Purpose," and maybe you'll wind up on the boat as well!

I likely won't have Internet again until about January 6th. More updates to come after that! I'll be taking plenty of photos and keeping a journal, so until then, bon voyage!

I spent an incredible week on the #SAILFORJUSTICE boat in July (see post). The nonprofit SailFuture helps troubled teens break the cycle of behavior that keeps them in the criminal justice system by living, learning, and training together on a donated racing yacht and other sailing programs. You can read about their fantastic success and transformational program on their website.

Their crew of formerly incarcerated teens is now training for a 2,700-mile race across the Atlantic Ocean. Follow their story by signing up for updates. Here's the most recent status report from the program's founder and executive director, Michael Long:

Right now, five of America's highest-risk juvenile offenders are on board 'SV' Defy The Odds somewhere between Spain and Morocco. They left everything they've ever known for the opportunity to transform their lives.

In 26 days, they will race 2,700 miles across the Atlantic Ocean against 217 other sailboats crewed by 1,200 of the world's most experienced sailors.

A weekly video series takes a deep look into the lives of our crew and explores how they landed in the justice system. Join us for the chaos, progress and beauty of these young men working to transform their lives and come together as a team to win the 2015 Atlantic Rally.

SailFuture utilizes the ocean as an alternative to incarceration for high-risk juvenile offenders and innovative mentorship practices to prevent at-risk high school students from entering the juvenile justice system.

UPDATE

Trying and learning is all part of success. See important update from the #SAILFORJUSTICE team.

(12 Nov 2015) After an emotional week filled with tough conversations, Dee, Pluto, Ridge, Tyler and Gavin have returned to the United States.

Lying, stealing, and a lack of willpower led us to decide that we weren't a strong enough team to compete in the race across the Atlantic Ocean. We could not sacrifice safety and ignore warning signs for the sake of the story.

Our mission was to create a transformational experience that would lead to transformational life changes for some of America's highest-risk juvenile offenders. We believe we did that.

Ridge had never left his reservation in Peach Springs, Arizona before embarking on his journey with SailFuture and visiting 5 different countries and 25 cities.

Dee and Pluto were fresh out of jail with no direction. After 100 hours of work shops and life coaching sessions, they have a path forward. In a few weeks Dee and Pluto will move into a SailFuture donor's home in Florida to begin working and apply to attend college at the University of South Florida.

Tyler and Gavin came into the program with uncontrollable anger and fought violently or escaped from every program they have been placed in. We had 0 violent incidents on board and we are proud they have developed new ways to cope with conflict and anger.

We're working with each of the guys to start their transition plans early. If you can assist with job placement or temporary housing, reach out to Mike at MLong@sailfuture.org

As for SailFuture, we'll be debriefing with partners, staff, and youth to evaluate lessons learned, and we are already preparing for the next SailFuture Odyssey program in late April.

Starting in mid January, we are offering unbelievably affordable weeklong vacation in the Caribbean onboard SV Defy the Odds. We encourage you to grab some friends and join us for a week: http://www.sailfuture.org/itinerary/

All of us at SailFuture, staff and students, have felt an extreme sense of community, love, and support from your facebook comments, emails, and phone calls. Thank you for being part of this journey and standing by us through both the calms and the rough seas.

I wrote an op-ed that TIME Magazine published about the need to create a multinational research effort (like CERN) for the oceans. It's a timely piece, with the UN General Assembly meetings starting in NYC this week and the UN's International Conference on Sustainable Development next week at Columbia University. Read more at TIME.com/4029379/cern-for-the-oceans/

Join Grace as she shares about what it was like to spend 14 days living and working in a laboratory 63 feet below the surface of the ocean! Grace will also talk about ocean engineering and robotics.

Grace just returned from exploring mesophotic coral reefs off the Honduran island of Utila. After earning her BSc in mechanical and ocean engineering at MIT, she’s currently a Marshall Scholar and PhD candidate with Oxford University’s Ocean Research & Conservation Group.

An avid sailor and diver, she’s participated in five marine expeditions on four continents this year, and is currently using new rebreather technology to dive deeper and longer. Her work experience includes helping to design, build, and text submersible and aerial robots that have deployed in the Arctic, Antarctic, Atlantic, and Pacific Oceans, to monitor endangered species and create 3D maps of ice shelves and coral reefs to measure effects warming and acidification.

Last year, she was an aquanaut on Fabien Cousteau’s Mission 31, living and working on the ocean floor for two weeks in the Aquarius underwater lab

This week 15 volunteers sailed the Aegean with SailFuture Captain Mike Long on his journey from Turkey to Florida, bringing a donated vessel to the non-profit’s headquarters. Half of us knew each other previously; half of us didn’t. We were all somewhat acquainted with Mike. Mike founded the non-profit, SailFuture, which teaches at-risk youth responsibility through sailing as an alternative to incarceration for teens with extensive criminal records. Their goal is to help troubled teens break the cycle of behavior that keeps them in the criminal justice system and prevents them from being responsible and happy members of their communities. You can read about their fantastic success and transformational program on their website. I also had them highlighted on the ACT NOW page a few weeks ago. I can’t speak highly enough of the program. This year a generous donor gave SailFuture a 65' racing yacht (a MacGregor Pilot House for the boat nerds out there). Mike and his first mate Jeremy repaired the boat and are sailing it from its donation point on the Black Sea in Turkey to its destination point in Florida. Along the way they’re picking up a ragtag bunch of SailFuture friends and supporters to help sail each leg of the journey home. For the uber-curious, here’s my day-by-day account of the week. In short, my leg of the trip was wonderful. Mike and his team’s passion and dedication not only impressed me, but invigorated my own endeavors. Not to get all soppy, but it was a seminal week that I’ll forever remember -- easily the most fabulous week of the year. I’m look forward to supporting SailFuture’s endeavors as best I can going forward. They’re currently fundraising to race a misfit group across the Atlantic. You can learn more at SailFuture, or reach out to me or Mike with questions.

Vacation over.

After Greece I pit-stopped in Oxford to repack gear. I flew out early in the morning to begin the three day journey to meet up with the rest of the Oxford research team at our research site on the island of Utila, off Honduras. I’m looking forward to the adventure and to testing new technologies and gathering data for my PhD.

Thanks Sport Diver magazine for the profile in April's issue! Also thanks to Teen Vogue for the profile earlier this spring. I'm grateful for the opportunity to spread the word about the urgent need for better ocean management and exciting new frontiers in ocean exploration.

I'm speaking about noise pollution in the ocean and its affect on animal welfare at the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics on Monday 4th May at 8pm. It will be an informal talk/discussion over wine and vegan snacks. If you'd like to attend, shoot me a message!

Grace Young will talk about her path to researching the oceans, her experiences living underwater, and her ongoing development of marine robots and underwater photographic systems. Ms. Young, a MIT Grad, was invited by ocean explorer Fabien Cousteau to be part of a team of aquanauts living underwater for over two weeks.

Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2015 11:40am to 1:00pm Whitman Auditorium

Students in select science and engineering classes have an opportunity to hear about the preparation and skills needed to live underwater. This event is cosponsored by the MIT Club of Washington. Members of the community are welcome to attend.

Another PhD student in my group needs 18 months to finish analyzing an enormous set of data he has collected on coral reefs. I just highlighted his work and Crowdfunder campaign on the Act Now page; learn more and support if you can! His work is fascinating and he's happy to reach out to groups who want to learn more about coral.

Author

Grace Young is an MIT ocean engineer, aquanaut, and scientist/engineer with Cousteau's Mission 31. She's currently a PhD student at University of Oxford, chief scientist for the Pisces VI deepsea submarine, and a National Geographic Emerging Explorer.